Neuronal Differentiation of C17.2 Neural Stem Cells Induced by a Natural Flavonoid, Baicalin

✍ Scribed by Dr. Ming Li; Dr. Kam-Sze Tsang; Sze-Ting Choi; Prof. Karen Li; Prof. Pang-Chui Shaw; Prof. Kwok-Fai Lau

• Book ID: 102790930
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 756 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1439-4227
• DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201000570

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Natural medicinal materials are a significant resource for the identification of compounds with specific biological properties. In this study, we employed multipotent C17.2 neural stem cells as a model for screening natural compounds that possess neural differentiation‐inducing properties. We show here for the first time that, out of the 67 compounds tested, the flavonoid baicalin is a potent differentiation‐inducing agent. Baicalin increased the number of cells bearing extended neurites and the expression levels of a number of neuronal markers. Importantly, baicalin promoted the expression of several key neurogenic transcriptional factors. Moreover, we demonstrated that baicalin enhanced the phosphorylation/activation of Erk1/2. Inhibition of Erk1/2 activation by the MEK inhibitor U0126 attenuated the neuronal differentiation‐inducing effect of baicalin. Taken together, our findings suggest that baicalin induces neuronal differentiation of C17.2 neural stem cells and that this is mediated by activation of Erk1/2. Our work lays the foundation for exploring baicalin for the promotion of neural regeneration after injury or disease.